Ratings Are No Hit for MTV Video Music Awards

Ratings for Sunday’s broadcast of MTV’s Video Music Awards plummeted, drawing an audience of 6.5 million viewers, about a 34 percent drop from last year’s total of 9.8 million.

Once again, MTV’s parent company, Viacom, used multiple cable channels — 11 in all, including VH1, Comedy Central and Spike — to broadcast the V.M.A.s, but it did not provide any boost.

The decrease in viewership comes shortly after this year’s Olympics saw a surprising ratings drop, suggesting that live events are no longer immune from a broader trend of diminished ratings that has plagued the industry, particularly scripted fare. This year’s Oscars telecast was the lowest rated in eight years, and last year’s Emmy Awards was its least viewed ever.

MTV, however, pointed to significant gains online: The network said that the V.M.A.s drew 45.8 million streams on Facebook, a huge increase over the 4.4 million from last year. Likewise it said that the V.M.A.s had 62.8 million streams on Sunday, up 70 percent versus what it had last year. But despite those gains, networks still earn most revenue from commercial time on a traditional broadcast.

The V.M.A.s certainly did not lack in star power, including a 16-minute performance from Beyoncé; four separate performances by Rihanna; and appearances from regulars like Britney Spears, Kanye West and Nicki Minaj.

Correction:Aug. 29, 2016

An earlier version of this article erroneously included one star among “appearances from regulars” in the music industry at the V.M.A.s. Taylor Swift did not appear.